The investigator leading the probe into Thursday’s crash that killed champion aerobatic pilot Rob Holland at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia says he was “coming in to land on runway 8,” but it is unclear “why he lost control and impacted terrain beside the runway.”
Holland was arriving at the Hampton, Virginia base, where he was set to perform this weekend in the Air Power Over Hampton Roads airshow.
“He was just coming in just for a normal landing,” and performed no acrobatic maneuvers, National Transportation Safety Board investigator Dan Boggs said in a news conference at the base on Friday.
Despite the crash, the airshow will continue as planned.
“Over the last 24 hours I’ve gained even more of a tremendous appreciation for the aviators and professionals that orchestrate these air shows,” Air Force Col. Matthew Altman, the commander of Joint Base Langley-Eustis said in the news conference. “Based on consultation and their strong recommendation, consultation with NTSB and our team’s preparedness to execute a safe airshow, we’ve decided to proceed with the air power Hampton Roads airshow this weekend.”
Holland’s custom MXS-RH aerobatic aircraft was coming in for a landing around 11:50 a.m., Thursday when it was involved in the accident, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. Only Holland was on board.
According to the NTSB’s preliminary understanding of the crash, the plane “never made contact with the runway,” and “crashed into terrain to the side of the runway,” NTSB spokesperson Sarah Sulick tells CNN.
Holland’s death has stunned the aviation world. He was the reigning US National Aerobatic Champion, a title he won 13 consecutive times, in the challenging sport of competitive aerobatic flying. Known for his exacting and innovative style, Holland often wowed airshow audiences throughout North America with maneuvers he invented himself.
“Rob was one of the most respected and inspiring aerobatic pilots in aviation history,” a post on Holland’s company’s Facebook page said. “Even with an absolutely impressive list of accomplishments, both in classical competition aerobatics and within the air show world, Rob was the most humble person with a singular goal to simply be better than he was yesterday.”
The single seat aerobatic plane was built to Holland’s specifications out of carbon fiber and capable of 16Gs plus rolls at 500 degrees per second, according to his website. He had spent more than two decades as a full-time airshow pilot.
The Experimental Aircraft Association, which hosts the annual Oshkosh, Wisconsin airshow where Holland was often a featured performer, called Holland “a trailblazer whose passion and innovation redefined the art of aerobatic flight” whose “contributions to aviation were unparalleled.”
“The world lost an extraordinary pilot, an incredible person, and a true hero who inspired countless lives,” the E3 Aviation Association posted. “With over 15,000 flight hours across more than 180 aircraft types, Rob’s skill was matched only by his boundless enthusiasm for flight.”
CNN’s Alexandra Skores contributed to this report.
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